Wagon-platform gearing



A. S. WAKELY. Wagon Platform Gearing.

No. 233,648. Patented Oct. 26, 1880.

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AROHIBALD S. WAKELY, OF MILFORD, MICHIGAN.

WAGON-PLATFORM GEARING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 233,648, dated October 26, 1880.

Application filed February 19, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARGHIBALD S. NAKE- LY, of Milford, county of Oakland, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Platform -Gearing; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains -to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in platform-gear for wagons, the object being to provide aplatform-gear which will be of strong and durable construction, and the parts firmly bound together; and the invention consists in certain details of construction and relative arrangement of parts, as will hereinafter be described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view, Fig. 2 is a side elevation and Fig. .3 is a bottom View, representing my invention.

In my device A represents the hounds, B and O the cross-pieces at their extremities, D

the center-bar, and E the circle-bar or fifthwheel. The platform thus outlined may be of any ordinary form, and adapted to be em ployed with either its large or its small end in front. The circle-bar is supported primarily by the center bar, D,but I provide a sandboard which crosses the structure beneath the hounds A and beneath the center of the circle-bar. This sand-board serves as the main support for the circle-bar, and as the supports for the circle-bar are thus rendered independent of the hounds A and their end crosspieces, B O, the circle-bar may be made of any desired dimensions. As the sand-board crosses beneath the hounds the circle-bar is notraised above the upper surface of the platform, as would be the case if the sand-board was made to rest upon the top of the hounds. At the points where the sand board crosses the hounds it is attached to the latter by suitable bolts or clips, but as the main strain upon the circle-bar has to be borne by the sand-board these fastenings would soon work loose. So I provide truss rods or straps F, which, being attached firmly at one end of the hounds, pass beneath the sand-board and are united to the other end of the platform-gear by passing the screw-threaded ends of the truss-rods through the cross-bar B, and securing the ends in place by means of nuts placed upon the projecting screw-threaded ends of the truss-rods. This construction and arrangement of parts not only serve to form a firm and durable support for the sand-board, but also serve to thoroughly bind together the parts of the frame and retain them against displacement. Should the frame-work become loosened in any of its parts by shrinkage or wear, it can be readily tightened and rendered firm by simply screwing up the nuts on the ends of the truss-rods.

The truss rods or straps F may rest in direct contact with the under side of the sand-board, or a short post may be interposed at this point, as may be desired. I prefer, however, to simply provide a wearing plate, F, attached to the underneath side of the sandboard, as shown.

The platform for a platform spring-wagon when constructed as herein describedis much stronger than those of the usual form, and the construction does not have to be made to conform to any particular size of circle-bar, but will suit all sizes and styles, and the circle-bar is brought close to the platform.

By the rods passing through the end piece, B, I am enabled to take up any rattle or looseness of the parts caused by wear, by simply turning the nuts upon the outer ends of the truss-rods.

I am aware that platform-wagon gears have been constructed with curved hounds, the opposite ends of which are connected by tie-rods supported at their central portions by braces depending from the opposite ends of the sandboard, and hence I would have it understood that I make no claim to such construction and combination of parts.

In my improvement the hounds are made straight, the circle-bar being located in the same, or nearly the same, horizontal plane as the upper surfaces of the hounds. A sand-bar is secured at its opposite ends to the under sides of the hounds, and the platform-gear is strengthened and firmly braced by means of I00 truss-rods, which are secured at one end to the hounds, and extend downwardly beneathand ent strut-bars, as ordinarily employed in connection with truss-rods.

What I claim is 1. In a platform-wagon gear, the combination, with straight hounds, a circle-bar located in the same, or nearly the same, horizontal plane as the upper surfaces of the hounds, and a sand-bar secured at its opposite ends to the under surfaces of the hounds, of truss-rods secured at one end to the hounds and extending downward beneath the opposite ends of the sandbar and resting against their lower sides, and then upwardly and through the cross-bar connecting the ends of the hounds, the trussrods being screw'threaded at one end and secured against displacement by means of nuts applied to their screw-threaded ends, substantially as set forth.

2. In a platform-gear, two hounds or side pieces and a straight center piece lying in-the same plane, a sand-board passing beneath all said pieces, and truss-rods passing longitudinally of the hounds beneath the sand-board and through the end piece, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

' AROHIBALD S. AKELY.

Witnesses:

WM. M. PORTER, S. E. THoMAs. 

